Riverwalk work to begin

Final pieces of Mishawaka walk falling into place.

Final pieces of Mishawaka walk falling into place.

August 05, 2006|SUE LOWE Tribune Staff Writer

MISHAWAKA -- Mayor Jeff Rea hopes all the pieces of the three-mile loop of the Riverwalk will be finished by next fall. "It has happened much quicker than we expected," he said during a ceremonial groundbreaking in Battell Park Friday. Possibly the most exciting of the last three pieces of the walk will be a pedestrian bridge over the St. Joseph River from the west end of the Robert C. Beutter Riverfront Park to the north shore of the river below the front doors of St. Monica Catholic Church. The bridge, called a tied arch bridge, will be 12 feet wide and built so there is no need for supports in the river. The bridge will connect the oldest and newest city parks, Beutter and Battell parks. The city will take bids for it, a smaller bridge over the Beutter Park race and some connecting sidewalks this fall. Work will then begin in the spring. City Planner Ken Prince said that project will cost about $2 million, although that's a rough estimate. The most expensive piece of the project will be the $3.7 million piece of the walkway from Central Park, under the Main Street bridge and up the bank to Battell Park. "For the last three years, we've used the sidewalk, but you have to cross five lanes of Main Street," Rea said. Work on that piece of the project should start next week. Northern Indiana Construction is the general contractor for the work. Those two pieces of the Riverwalk puzzle will be paid for with money collected in the Northwest Tax Increment Finance District.